Listen to the sound /æ/. Look at the mouth diagram to see how to make this short vowel sound.

Listen to the target sound /æ/ in the words and compare it with the words on each side.

mud mad madesing sang sungpen pan painhot hat heart

The fat cat sat on the man's black hat

Listen and repeat these examples of the target sound.

bank beg back can cash catch ham has hat

Important for listening! In most accents, the following words have the vowel /æ/: ask dance
castle bath fast. But in South East England, speakers change the A sound
in words such as these to /a:/. (For more about /a:/see Unit 14.)

Listen and circle the word you hear. Key1.man2. cap3. heart4. pen5. hay1 Man or men? Did you see the man / men? 2 Cap or cup? Have you seen my cap / cup? 3 Hat or heart? She put her hand on her hat / heart. 4 Pain or pen? I've got a pain / pen in my hand. 5 Hay or hair? There are bugs in this hay / hair.

Follow up: Record yourself saying the sentences
in 4, choosing one of the two words. Make a note of which words you
say. Then listen to your recording in about two weeks. Is it clear
which words you said?